Become a funeral director in Oregon without embalming

What it takes, step by step

1. Be at least 18. To register as an apprentice, show proof of high-school graduation or equivalency (for example a GED, or college transcripts).

   Sources for step 1

   • Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board, individual licenses
   • OAR 830-011-0020
   • Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board, apprenticeships

2. Education: an associate degree or higher in any field from an accredited college.

   Sources for step 2

   • ORS 692.045
   • OAR 830-011-0020
   • Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board, individual licenses

3. Apprenticeship (supervised work in a funeral home; the state sets who supervises) under a funeral service practitioner who has worked at least one year in Oregon in the last ten. You must be directly involved in at least 25 arrangements, each from first contact through disposition. There is no embalming count. The Board's page says at least 1,440 hours. The apprenticeship may not run longer than 48 months in total.

   Sources for step 3

   • OAR 830-011-0020
   • Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board, apprenticeships

4. Pass the Oregon funeral service practitioner exam (on state and federal law) with at least 75%. You may sit it before finishing the apprenticeship, but you apply for the license only when both are done. No National Board exam (the NBE, the national licensing exam set by The Conference (the International Conference of Funeral Service Examining Boards), in two sections, Arts and Sciences; The Conference, National Board Exam) is needed.

   Sources for step 4

   • ORS 692.070
   • OAR 830-020-0000(2)(a)
   • OAR 830-011-0040(1)
   • ORS 692.045

Does a funeral home need an embalmer?

No embalmer is named in the statute: a funeral establishment must be run by a funeral service practitioner. It must have embalming facilities or a holding room, and access to refrigeration. Board rules let only embalmers or embalmer apprentices do the professional washing and preparation of bodies.

Licensed in another state?

Reciprocity: you need at least one full year of licensed practice in a state with substantially similar requirements, an associate degree or higher, and a pass on the Oregon FSP exam (75%). Four years as a licensed FSP or embalmer in good standing in any state counts in place of the degree. One year licensed elsewhere also replaces the apprenticeship.

Good to know

• The 1,440-hour minimum appears on the Board's apprenticeship page but not in the rule text quoted here, which requires 25 arrangements 'in addition to meeting the time and competency requirements' without stating the hours.

  Sources

  • Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board, apprenticeships
  • OAR 830-011-0020

Check with the board

Rules change. Confirm the current licensing requirements with the board before you enroll.

Oregon Mortuary and Cemetery Board

Next

• How to become a Muslim funeral director
• Open jobs at funeral services serving Muslim communities
• Muslim funeral services in Oregon
• Every state, at a glance